The Yahoo Application Platform (or Y!AP, if you shorten it and embrace the company’s use of exclamation points) grew significantly more appealing today.  A deal between Yahoo and Offerpal Media ensures that developers and users will have more payment options.

Note: this doesn’t just mean that users are presented with a greater number of ways (mobile billing, prepaid debit cards, etc.) to fork over cash – although that’s part of it.  Offerpal, which specializes in virtual currency, has an "alternative payment engine" that can involve more cost-effective options.

An announcement concerning this partnership explained that Offerpal deals in "[a] complete suite of alternative payment options, including surveys, videos, shopping rewards, tasks and other methods of acquiring virtual currency for free."

Developers will now be able to offer users "[t]housands of free trials, discounts, promotions and other currency-based advertising offers from big brands such as Netflix, Disney, Discover Card, New York Times, DirecTV and many others," too.

That’s an important development, considering how many people spend hours digging through forums and coupon sites for the sake of sniffing out such transactions.  If they now spend a little more time with apps and games developed using the Yahoo Application Platform, developers, Yahoo, and Offerpal will score a significant win.